Paint the Land Gray
by Ember Mage
Summary: If only we all see the land as the color gray. Then our opinions would be even.


**Disclaimer: Meitantei Conan/Detective Conan/Case Closed** does not belong to me in any way. All characters are copyrighted to Aoyama Gosho.

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**Additional notes:** Too... much... symbolism... in.... story! **(twitch twitch)**

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**Paint the Land Gray**

**By Ember Mage**

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The afternoon reached the stage where it would mature into the graceful peak of night. The sky was the color of the leaves of early autumn, and clouds were tainted pink and blue on different sides of the horizon. At this time, young children would frolic inside the safe bosoms of their household, but this child is a different story.

Conan had given himself a long tour around Teitan High School, the school he had went to before he was unsuspectedly put in this impossible predicament. Normally, he hated school, but to the inner ego of most, it was like a home away from home. He had bypassed the field area, where he had dominated the grass with his soccer abilities, and the classroom he used to be in, where he remembered sitting across the room from the windows, watching the fresh sunlight from the rain clouds flick their magic across Ran's face. How he missed those days, even though the upside to this was that no one would tease him about being Ran's "husband."

The janitor had finished flipping his mop across the tile floors and was busy locking all the gates up. The moment Conan had seen this, he decided that he should go home before he was locked into the school. Then Ran would call the police to find him and when they found him Kogoro would.... Conan shook those thoughts out of his mind. He didn't need to think about this.

The little boy tediously stepped down the chalky white stairs of the building and took a last glance at the proud building before finishing his journey across the yard to the gates of Teitan High School. The sky was turning into a dark shade of midnight blue by the second he spent there standing on the sidewalk.

He should get home. He had told Ran that he was going "Out for a walk" and if he squeezed back into the Mouri Detective Agency building past his curfew, Ran would lecture him for hours. Kogoro would even make it worse by yelling at him and smacking his head at each word for emphasis. Conan shuddered at the thought and hoped Kogoro hadn't been chugging beer while he was gone.

"I knew I'd find you here, Edogawa Conan,"a voice quietly stated from behind Conan. "Or should I say, Kudo Shinichi."

Conan turned his head to see the speaker, and there she was. A small girl around his age both technically and physically, her face framed with the darkness of the sunset. Her usual ice cold stare was softened with a warm smirk on her face.

"Hey, Haibara,"said Conan. "Shouldn't you be getting home?"

Ai ignored his statement and took a step forward, arms folded. "You still miss your old life. I can see that."

Conan snorted and looked away from the dishwater blonde. "As if you didn't know that from the beginning."

The half-Japanese untied her arms across her chest and freed them. "Every change in life may benefit into something better than the last, or worst than the last. However you see it; it depends on how optimistic you are."

"Agreed. Your statement is true." The boy dug his hands into the pockets of his aquamarine shorts. "Take for example, the serenity of the darkening sky,"continued Ai, falling into step beside Conan, slowly strolling across the paved sidewalks towards the lonely downtown streets. "As it loses its luster into a weak and restless night, the scattering stars would arise from their sleep and glow." She turned to face Conan and added in a mysterious tone,"Nature can be a savage demon at times, but most of the time it can be seen as tranquil and serene."

Conan smiled. "Or it could be like the arrival of a spectrum after a shower of rain. It provides a promise to a sunny day. The many colors of a rainbow each represent a different view of things, since they are of different shades."

"I view my world in the color gray,"was Ai's reply to Conan's response. "It may be that it is not from the rainbow because of it being unique and different like the others."

"Or maybe because of your last name?" suggested the young detective, raising an eyebrow.

Ai laughed bitterly. "You may say that. The color gray is tainted by the shade of black, yet purified by the light. The neutral shade that doesn't resemble evil or good. If only the rest of the world can see their world in gray, maybe all of our problems would dissapate."

Conan nodded in agreement. "But we do. Some of us are good and conceal evil deep inside and vice versa. But some decide to stand at one side or the other. All or nothing. They benefit from their own choices. The sky is always painted gray, no matter how dark or how bright it may seem. It will always face off as a neutral color and like us, it's a neutral party. But when will the darkness or the light fully devour it?"

The girl closed her eyes as a silent breeze draped around her shoulders. "Only time. Only time can tell."

The magic of the appearing moonlight radiated the mysterious aura around their speech of symolism. As Ai opened her eyes, she answered with a hint of drama in her voice,"Time can tell whether I am able to create a permanent antidote for you. We will have to wait before Time can give us our answer."

Conan sighed, beginning to quicken his pace slightly as he shuffled his feet past the restaurants next to him. One by one, each building seemed to walk by him, ignoring him. Leaving him under the bright spotlight of the street lamps. The blonde responded to his silence. "The life that you once had may be nothing but a mere memory, but it can't ever be forgotten."

"Indeed it can't,"agreed Conan yet again.

Ai drew in a deep breath and whispered,"Don't you want us to stay like this forever? Young, happy, and free? The memories will still exist within your soul, but you can have a fresh start and relive these joys of your life."

"We may agree on many things,"started Conan slowly, "but there are as many as we do disagree with. I'm happy that you're starting to enjoy life as it is, out in the light and free from the darkness, but I am entitled to my opinion that as much as I feel safe living like this, I miss my old days."

An uncomfortable period of silence quieted the two. Neither of them uttered a word and heard nothing except for the bypassing cars' beeping songs or the melody of the soothing breeze. Though neither of them had to speak, they heard each other crystal clear.

Finally, the long moment was shattered by Ai. "As much as I want you to stay, I want you to know that I know you must go. Return to the river of where you existed in before you had fallen into the dark ocean that fate brought you to. Return to the gray sky of where you dwelled before you had fallen into the Earth."

She sighed, and Conan intently listened. He took a step closer to her, and said,"Life may not be sustained forever, but the ties of friendship can. Because wherever you go, you'll always know that someone.... someone important to you will always be behind you. Maybe not physically, but emotionally he or she will be there."

"As I will be behind you,"mumbled Ai. "I trust that you'll be there when I'm trapped in my own bubble, or lost in the forests of misery."

"Don't worry, Haibara,"said Conan coolly. The duo stopped in front of the Mouri Detective Agency, which would have looked silent had it not been for the bright lights streaming from the large windows. "We'll always be there to support each other. I support you for trying to create a cure and you'll support me in hopes of taking down the Black Organization."

Ai managed a smile on her face. "Thank you, Kudo." Drawing in another deep breath, she added,"You should be getting home. It's almost past your curfew."

Conan checked the watch strapped to his wrist. "Oh! Thanks for the warning, Haibara! I'll see you tomorrow!"

With a spin, he disappeared past the doors to his dormitory, leaving Haibara Ai standing outside.

With the warm smile still plastered on her face, Ai whispered,"I'll see you, too. Under the gray sky we'll meet again."

The blonde turned around and took herself home into the night.


End file.
